Comprehensive Guide
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How it works
A blended overtime calculation is the FLSA-required method for pricing overtime when a single workweek spans multiple pay rates: rather than attaching the premium to whichever rate happened to be on the clock, all straight-time earnings are added together and divided by all straight-time hours, producing one weighted regular rate from which every premium hour is paid. The rule exists because splitting a week into roles — a technician earning $22 for thirty-eight hours plus a trainer earning $18 for ten — would otherwise let employers price statutory premiums off the cheaper rate alone. In the default case the weighted rate lands at $21.17, between the two, and six overtime hours plus four double-time hours priced from it add $190.50 and $169.33 respectively, lifting the week to $1,375.83 — an effective $23.72 per hour across fifty-eight hours worked. The same folding logic extends to shift differentials and nondiscretionary bonuses, both of which must enter the regular rate before premiums apply. Anyone whose stub shows more than one rate should verify the weighted math monthly; the most common payroll error is applying 1.5× to only the lower rate, quietly shaving tens of dollars out of every mixed week.Formula
Blended rate = (rateA×hrsA + rateB×hrsB) ÷ (hrsA + hrsB) | OT = 1.5 × blended × OT hrs | Double time = 2 × blended × DT hrs
Tips
- Never let overtime price off the lower rate alone — the blend is what the FLSA requires.
- Nondiscretionary bonuses and shift differentials belong inside the weighted rate.
- Double time is contractual or state-mandated, not federal — check your handbook.
- Watch weekly, not biweekly, totals: overtime is measured per workweek.
- Reconcile one stub a month against this breakdown to catch blended-rate errors.
Frequently asked questions
What is blended overtime?
Overtime priced from a weighted average of all rates worked that week rather than from a single rate. Work 38 hours at $22 and 10 at $18 and the blended rate is $21.17; overtime then pays 1.5 × $21.17 = $31.75 per hour instead of either raw rate.
Why is my overtime based on a lower rate than I earn?
It should not be unless most of your hours genuinely pay less. The FLSA weights by hours: cheap hours pull the blend down while expensive ones push it up. If payroll consistently applies the bottom rate to every overtime hour, that is a compliance error — this calculator shows the lawful figure.
How is double time calculated with two pay rates?
Most systems apply the multiplier to the same blended regular rate: 2 × $21.17 = $42.33 per double-time hour in the example above. California mandates daily double time but still computes it from the regularly scheduled rate; elsewhere double time is whatever company policy promises.
Is overtime 1.5x or 2x pay?
Federal law sets 1.5× the regular rate past 40 hours per workweek; double time is a bonus on top. California goes further — daily overtime past 8 hours, double past 12, and double time on a seventh consecutive day. Every other state defaults to the federal 1.5× rule unless policy is richer.
Do bonuses count toward the overtime rate?
Nondiscretionary bonuses — production, attendance, promised targets — must be folded into the regular rate before computing premiums. Discretionary gifts and profit-sharing outside any promise stay out. Practical effect: a $500 quarterly production bonus raises the blended rate retroactively, triggering a small owed premium on prior OT weeks.